Car-fender.



0. J. SCHMITT.

GAR FENDERn APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 17, 1909.

945,81 3f. Patented Jan. 1l, 1910.

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0. J. SCHMITT.

CAR FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 17, 1909.

945,81 3.. Patented Jan. 11, 1910.

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0u J. SCHMITT. CAR FENDER. APPLICATION FILED s111111?, 1909.

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Patented Jan. 11, 1910.`

operate to gently deposit the person or obiirr OTTO J'. SCHMITT, OFPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 11, 1910.

Application filed September 17, 1909. Serial No. 518,140.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTO J. SCHMITT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCar-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in ing to provide a fender, whichwhen it comes into contact with a person or object will ject upon thefender, and prevent any possibility of the fender passing over theperson or object.

A further object is to provide a fender, comprising in effect twoplatforms, one above the other, the upper platfo-rm normally projectingout beyond the lower, but which when it strikes an object will moverearward, while the lower platform will move forwardly and downwardly,so as first to gently deposit the person or object upon the upperplatform and second to absolutely prevent. possibility of passing belowthe fender, the lower platform moving downward in close proximity to theground, and serving to prevent such an occurrence.

'Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction, and combinations and arrangements ofparts as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1, is a view in side elevationillustrating my improvements in normal position. Fig. 2, is a similarview showing the parts in position after engagement with a person orobject. Fig. 3, is a plan view of Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is a plan view of theforward end of the lower platform.l Fig. 5, is a view in longitudinalsection of one side member of the upper platform. Fig. 6, is afragmentary View in side elevation showing the forward end of a sidemember of the lower platform slightly enlarged, and Fig. 7 is a view inside elevation showing the fender in folded or upright position.

1 represents the forward end of a car, to the bottom of which twistedbars 2 are secured by bolts 3, and these twisted bars are in turnpivotally connected by pivots l with bars 5, the latter having lips orlugs 6 at their inner ends to project below bars 2, and

normally hold the bars 5 in the position shown in Fig. 1. r1`he pivots4L also pass through the center of links 7, and pivots 8 at the forwardends of bars 5 pass through the center of links 9, said links 9 beingshorter than links 7. The upper ends of links 7 and 9 are pivotallyconnected by means of pivots 10 with the side bars 11 of the upperplatform 12, and the lower ends of the links 7 and 9 are pivotallyconnected by pivots 13 to the side bars 14rof lower platform 15.

The upper platform 12 at its rear end is provided with an extension 16,which latter is pivotally connected to the main portion of this platformby means of the pivots 10 above referred to, and is further supported bymeans of chains 17, which latter are connected at one end at openings 18in bars 5, between their ends by links or chains 19 with the upper orrear ends of extension 16, and at their opposite ends with the cardashboard as shown at 20, to hold the extension 16 at a somewhat greaterincline than the upper platform 12, so as to prevent any possibility ofa person or object being rolled over the fender when caught.

The platform 12 and extension 16 may be made up in various ways, suchfor instance as shown most clearly in Fig. 8, inv which a netting ofrope 21 is employed to connect the side bars of the platform andextensioinand transverse bars 22 strengthen the structure, said nettingbeing so arranged as to facilitate the pivotal movement of the extension16 and the platform 12 with relation to each other. The lower platform15 is also provided at its forward end with a suitable rope netting 23,and the side bars 111 of this lower platform are connected by transverserods 24k.

The side bars 11 of the upper platform 12 are preferably of tubularform, and a cross bar 25 is secured to rods 26, and the lattertelescoped in the ends of the side bars 11, and coiled springs 27 aroundthe rods 26 are secured at their ends to the side bars 11 and rods 26respectively, and provide cushions to relieve a person or object fromthe shock of contact. The space between the side bars 11 and cross bar25 is preferably filled by a frame 28, and netting 29, which may ofcourse be of various forms.

The side bars 14: of the lower platform 15 are provided at their forwardends with downwardly projecting enlargements 80, which serve to take thewear of any contact with the ground, and keep a roller 31 off theground. This roller 31 has rotary mounting by means of trunnions 32 inthe forward ends of side bars 14E, and is provided with a ratchet wheel83, with which a spring pressed dog 34E is in contact. The teeth of theratchet 33 are so arranged that the roller 31 can only turn in onedirection, and that is upwardly and rearwardly, so as to bring a personor object upwardly or rearwardly on the fender, and not in the reversedirection, which would tend to ride the fender over the person orobject.

Coiled springs 35 connect the rear ends of the side bars 14 with thebars 5 at the openings 18, which springs however', are of just theproper tension to change the position of parts from that shown in F ig.1, to that shown in Fig. 2, when the forward end of the upper platform12 strikes a person or object, but these springs are not strong enoughof themselves to shift the position of parts, but when the parts are asin Fig. 1, the weight of the upper platform overcomes the tension of thesprings suiiiciently to hold the parts in this position, until a blowagainst an object, gives the upper platform a rearward movement, whenthe springs will complete the change of position.

In operation, the fender is normally as shown in Fig. 1. When the crossbar 25 strikes a person, the shock of contact is sufficient to give arearward movement of the upper platform 12, and the springs 35 will thencause the upper platform to move rearwardly, while the lower platformwill move downwardly and forwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2. Thismovement of the platforms will cause the fender to scoop up the personstruck, and deposit him gently upon the upper platform, the roller 31 ofthe lower platform preventing any possibility of him passing below thefender, as the lower platform will move downwardly in the arc of acircle, so as to touch or almost touch the ground, and prevent anypossibility of any object of any size passing below the platform. Thefender therefore operates when striking a person to gently move rearwardwith the person, and prevent a hard blow against the fender when hefalls thereon. The cross bar 25 being cushioned by springs 27 will notgive a hard blow to the person, but will serve to drop sufficiently todeposit him upon the fender. If he should fall and be upon the groundwhen struck by the fender, the lower platform will serve to scoop himup, and he will be rolled gently upon the upper platform.

By this construction, it is quite impossible for the fender to pass overan object of any size, and the device is designed not only to pick up aperson in standing position, but also one lying upon the track. Vhen thefender is not in use, it may be folded as shown in Fig. 7, when a chainor other suitable device 3G upon the car platform may hold thc fender inthis folded position.

Various slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangementof parts described without departing from my invention, and hence I donot restrict myself to the precise details set forth, but considermyself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fallwithin the spirit and scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a carfender, the combination with longitudinal bars, linkspivotally supported between their ends on said bars, upper' and lowerplatforms pivotally connected to said links, and springs connecting saidbars with the rear ends of the lower platform.

2. In a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform pivotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a weight sufficient to overbalance the tension ofsaid springs.

3. In a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an ripper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform pivotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a weight sufiicient to overbalance the tension ofsaid springs, a cross bar at the forward end of the upper platform, andsprings elastically cushioning said bar.

4. In a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform pivotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a weight sufficient to overbalance the tension ofsaid springs, and a roller supported at the forward end of said lowerplatform.

5. 1n a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform piyotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a. weight sufficient to overbalance the tension ofsaid springs, a roller having rotary mounting at the forward end of thelower platform, a ratchet wheel secured to turn with said roller, a dogengaging said ratchet wheel, whereby said roller is permitted only anupward and rearward rotary movement.

G. In a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform pivotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a weight sufficient to overbalance the tension ofsaid springs, an extension on said upper platform piyotally connected tothe lower platform, chains adapted to be connected with the front end ofa car, and at their forward ends to said first mentioned bars, andbetween their ends to the rear and upper ends of their extension.

T. 1n a car fender, the combination with an upper object receivingplatform, a lower platform, bars supporting said platforms, and means soconnecting the platforms that when the upper of said platforms engagesan object the upper platform will move rearwardly, while the lowerplatform will move forwardly, of a car, bars secured to the car andpivotally secured to said first mentioned bars, lugs on said firstmentioned bars projecting below the bars secured to the car, to hold thesaid first mentioned bars and the fender in normal position, and nettingof flexible material upon said upper and lower platforms.

8. 1n a car fender, the combination with longitudinal bars, linkspivotally supported between their ends on said bars, upper and lowerplatforms pivotally connected to said links, and springs connecting saidbars with the rear ends of the lower platform of a car, bars secured tothe car and pivotally secured to said first mentioned bars, lugs on saidfirst mentioned bars projecting below the bars secured to the car, tohold the said first mentioned bars and the fender in normal position,and netting of fiexible material upon said upper and lower platforms.

9. 1n a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform pivotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends` to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a weight sufficient to oyerbalance the tension ofsaid springs. of a car, bars secured to the car and piyotally secured tosaid first mentioned bars, lugs on said first mentioned bars projectingbelow the bars secured to the car, to hold the said first mentioned barsand the fender in normal position, and netting of fieXible material uponsaid upper and lower platforms.

lO. In a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform piw otally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform piyotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear when projected forwardly being of a weightsufficient to overbalance the tension of said springs, a cross bar atthe forward end of the upper platform, and springs elasticallycushioning said bar, of a car, bars secured to the car and pivotallysecured to said first mentioned bars, lugs on said first mentioned barsprojecting below the bars secured to the car, to hold the said firstmentioned bars and the fender in normal position, and netting offlexible material upon said upper and lower platforms.

11. 1n a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform pivotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a weight sufficient to overbalance the tension ofsaid springs, and a roller supported at the forward end of said lowerplatform, of a car,

bars secured to the car and pivotally secured to said first mentionedbars, lugs on said first mentioned bars projecting below the barssecured to the car to hold the said first menlinks, and said upperplatform tioncd bars and the fender in normal position, and netting ofiiexible material upon said upper and lower platforms.

l2. In a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform pivotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a weight sullicient to overbalance the tension ofsaid springs, a roller having rotary mounting at the forward end of thelower platform, a ratchet wheel secured. to turn with said roller, a dogengaging said ratchet wheel, whereby said roller is permitted only anupward. and rearward rotary movement, of a car, bars secured to the carand pivotally secured to said first mentioned bars, lugs on said firstmentioned bars projecting below the bars and the fender in normalposition, and netting of flexible material upon said upper and lowerplatforms.

13. In a car fender, the combination with parallel longitudinal bars, apair of links pivotally connected between their ends to each of saidbars, an upper platform pivotally connected to the upper ends of saidlinks, a lower platform pivotally connected to the lower ends of saidlinks, springs connected at one end to the bars between the links, andat their other ends to the lower platform adjacent its pivotalconnection with the rear links, and said upper platform when projectedforwardly being of a weight sufficient to overbalance the tension ofsaid springs, an extension on said upper platform pivotally connected tothe lower platform, chains adapted to be connected with the front end ofa car, and at their forward ends to said first mentioned bars, andbetween their ends to the rear and upper ends of their extension, of acar, bars secured to the car and pivotally secured to said firstmentioned bars, lugs on said first mentioned bars projecting' below thebars secured to the car to hold the said first inentioned bars and thefender in normal position, and netting of flexible material upon saidupper and lower platforms.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specifica-tion in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

OTTO J. SCI-Ill/IITT.

Witnesses CONRAD SCHMITT, J. A. L. MULHALL.

